The Key to the Lightside
by jesphoenix05
Summary: Feeling old and heavy with the burdens of his long years Luke is guided back to Dagobah by a vision. One that he's not aware will restore his old heart...xover with KH2!


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Wars or Kingdom Hearts…well actually I do have both sets of DVDs for Star Wars and I do have Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 and play it avidly on my PS2 so I guess I sort of do own it! But I guess for the purposes of this story I must say that I don't (sigh). SW is the property of George Lucas whom I would marry if I wasn't in love with my husband and KH is the property of Disney whom I have also worshipped (well at least his movies!) since I was a small child!

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**The Key to the Light Side of the Force**

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Luke Skywalker made his way thru the swamps of Dagobah towards Master Yoda's old hut slowly taking in all the old sights and sounds that he hadn't experienced in so many years. He thought back to the last time he'd been here. It had been during the Grand Admiral Thrawn incident when he had that first vision of Mara.

'How many years ago was that?' he asked himself trying not to give in to the dark heavy thoughts that had been plaguing him of late since the recent death of his old friend Wedge Antilles. The jagged blade of grief had cut more deeply than ever before for it made him face his own mortality as well as those who he cherished most for the first time in all the long years of relative peace this galaxy has seen.

"Too many to count!" he answered himself with a tired sigh as he trudged along the old swamp feeling more heavily with each step all the long years that had gone by him. As a Jedi he knew that there was no death only the force that all must return to it and as a warrior he should feel happy that Wedge got to live a long happy life. He got to see his children and grandchildren grow up and for life long warriors like them dying of old age was a rare triumph.

He approached the remains of the hut nearly devoured now by the swamp. He couldn't help feeling once more a touch of loss at the sight of his old tiny master's home. However as he stared sadly at the tiny ruins something glittered brightly in the mud. Quickly he set to work freeing the small object from the wreckage and the dirt then smiled in surprise and utter delight banishing for the moment the dark cloud hanging above him.

"Master Yoda's lightsaber!" he exclaimed with some of that old spark of enthusiasm that had so characterized him in his young days as a rebel fighter. He had thought it lost those many years ago when he last visited. He laughed in almost child-like delight and surprise as he flipped the switch and the blade came on shining brightly as if it were brand new.

He smiled and flipped the switch off. He stood there for a while thinking back on the vision that had brought him here in the first place as he wiped mud off the otherwise unharmed weapon. He had seen himself finding this lightsaber. He also had seen himself facing a huge creature that seemed to be made wholly of evil power. The two images were connected somehow but Luke had not yet figured out how.

He placed the small lightsaber in a pocket of his cloak then turned and walked to the place where he had last spoken to Obi-Wan reasoning that a bit of patience and perhaps a little meditation in that place would bring him the answer. Dagobah after all was a place strong with the force. Tiredly he sat down and taking a deep breath he cleared his mind and concentrated on feeling the living force.

He hadn't been the only one to have these visions at the temple and those other Jedi who did had advised against his going. Especially his 7yr old granddaughter who insisted the swamp world was no place for an old man! He couldn't help laughing at the memory of his youngest grandchild stomping her foot and insisting grampa at least take 10 no… _20_ fully trained Jedi knights with him!

Suddenly like a slap of ice cold water a surge of dark power surrounded him nearly choking him and drowning out the happy memory of his loving grandchild that the force had floated towards him. His eyes flew open and the force came rushing to his aid as he jumped off the rock he was sitting on and landed easily away from the giant horn that nearly skewered him.

"What is that thing?" he asked himself as he calmly studied the creature. At first glance it was obviously not a creature native to Dagobah. It was a strange dark violet colored thing that vaguely resembled a bantha except unlike a bantha this thing had no hair and was marked with a heart symbol that seemed broken in four pieces on the forehead just above a huge nasty looking horn. It lumbered slowly towards Luke and aimed its horn at him. This time instead of ramming him with it however it spewed dark energy balls with surprising accuracy forcing Luke to activate his lightsaber to deflect the energy balls.

"It's a physical manifestation of the dark side! It is purely evil energy!" Luke realized with a mixture of awe and horror. He called upon the force to search for a way to defeat this odd enemy. He slashed at the legs but the attack did no damage to the beast. Luke continued to dodge and deflect energy balls confounded by this beast's strength. He had never encountered such a thing and he had seen a great _many_ strange things!

"Be careful old man!" called out a very young voice from somewhere behind him. Luke spared only a moment's glance and saw a young human boy with very spiky hair rushing towards him. He could not be more than 14 years old perhaps with two aliens accompanying him of species he had never seen before. Briefly he wondered how the child was able to get so close to him without Luke detecting his presence.

"We'll handle this! Hyuck!" drawled the taller alien with the long floppy ears and a huge shield in front of him. The other alien who looked like something resembling a duck said something that sounded like the word: wind. But Luke couldn't be sure because his speech was too garbled for him to understand. He suddenly found himself surrounded by a soft wind current that moved as he moved but provided a very powerful shield against the attacks of the beast.

The boy jumped up as high as any padawan he'd ever seen and landed easily on the creature's neck. He immediately began hacking away at the big horn on the thing's head with what looked like a giant old fashioned key. It roared in obvious pain and anger and tried to shake the boy off. The boy did fall off but undaunted he launched himself back up and continued his attack radiating his love for his friends and his concern not just for _their_ well being but for Luke's as well.

That was when it hit him! 'Of course…it's so simple,' he realized and for a moment imagined with amusement the sharp rap on his knee Master Yoda would've surely given him for missing the obvious. The boy and his friends had power over the creature because somehow their weapons channeled the good energy of their feelings for each other and everyone around them into a mighty physical force they could use to counter the creature's pure darkness.

'To banish a shadow all you need to do is turn on a light!' he thought realizing only at that moment why the force had nudged the memory of his granddaughter to him. He closed his eyes for a moment and summoned every ounce of love and joy he felt for every person in his life: His family, his friends, his students and all those long gone but whose memories were never too far away to bring him happiness. He felt his body lighten and start moving forward.

Everything around him was glowing and he smiled as the boy stared for a moment in awe then jumped away from the creature just before his lightsaber impaled itself on the creature's forehead. With one last roar of anger the creature vanished leaving no trace of itself. It was as if it had never existed! Luke floated gently down to the ground where the boy and his two companions were excitedly waiting for him to land.

"Whoa that was awesome!" said the boy his face lit with great wonder and excitement. Luke smiled amused. The look on the boy was no different then the one on the young students who met him for the first time. He always secretly looked forward to that moment. Mara often teased him about it in private!

"Thank you you're not so bad yourself um…" Luke left the comment open to allow the boy to insert his introduction.

"Oh right! My name's Sora and these are my friends Donald and Goofy!" he replied cheerfully pointing first to himself then to his two companions. Luke gave him his best grandfatherly smile.

"I am Jedi Master Luke Skywalker," he introduced in a calm gentle voice.

"So you're like a teacher? Like Master Yen Sid?" said the one with the floppy ears now identified as Goofy. Luke smiled amused and moved back towards the boulder he'd been sitting on earlier with a slight ache in his joints reminding him of his age.

"I don't know any masters called Yen Sid but yes I am a teacher!" he replied with an amused chuckle.

"Oh cool! Could you teach me that move you did with your sword?" Sora asked with an eager look on his face. Luke smiled at him marveling at this youth. In direct opposition to the creature which the boy now explained in a rush was named Behemoth. The boy was of pure light! He possessed none of the fears or little insecurities that boys his age usually have.

"Sora! We don't have time for that! We have to find Riku and the King!" yelled Donald annoyed and Luke found himself both amused and fascinated over the fact that he could now understand quite well the little one's garbled speech. Sora flinched and scratched the back of his head apparently embarrassed for having gotten himself sidetracked.

"Oh come on! Its not like I forgot or anything! Say Master you wouldn't have seen a guy with long white hair about my age and a short one with big round ears would you?" Sora asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. It saddened Luke not to be able to help this boy.

"No I'm afraid I haven't…" replied Luke sadly and Sora and his companions visibly deflated.

"But come sit with me Sora and tell me what brings you here. I might be able to help you on your quest," he said inviting them to sit near him. Taking a deep breath Sora began by explaining that the creature they had destroyed was called a heartless. It was a creature created by the darkness in people's hearts and there were many such creatures in many worlds.

"Of course there is…there is darkness inside every heart," Luke interjected sagely thinking of those who had fallen to the dark side of the force and from that darkness they had become monsters. What Sora was saying sounded very familiar…

"Yea but there's light too! All hearts and all the worlds are connected by the light they share in the deepest part of their hearts!!" Sora eagerly countered and explained that in order to prevent the heartless from invading worlds and shrouding them in darkness he had been chosen to wield the keyblade to seal the corridors of darkness.

'Out of the mouths of babes…' thought Luke feeling his heart lift out of darkness completely as Sora reminded him of the basic principles that as a Jedi he should've never forgotten not even for a moment. However in the process of saving worlds from darkness Sora had almost lost his friend Kairi and had all but lost his friend Riku who had willingly given in to the darkness in a misguided attempt to save her.

"Your friend Kairi…is she safe?" Luke asked concerned and touched by this boy's all-too-familiar plight.

"Yea! At the last second Riku rejected the darkness and helped me rescue her! She's waiting for me and Riku back home on Destiny Islands," he quickly answered though the sadness that crept in to his voice revealed the only spot of darkness in him.

"But Riku…He had to lock himself in the realm of darkness with King Mickey to prevent all the worlds from being destroyed by the Heartless," he concluded sadly.

"Shucks! We can't give up! I'm sure King Mickey found a way out of the realm of darkness!" Goofy pointed out reminding them that they had seen Pluto – the king's canine sidekick – and wherever Pluto was the king could not be far behind.

"And where the King is Riku is sure to be! We won't stop until we find them!" Sora declared to the enthusiastic approval of his companions once more banishing with his hopes the speck of darkness slithering into his heart. He added to his explanation that the Door to Darkness had been sealed but now they were traveling in the paths of light opened by the keyblade searching for their lost friends all the while fighting the forces of darkness that still threatened the worlds they visited searching for new paths with which to invade.

"Sora…Riku is very fortunate to have a friend like you," Luke pointed out solemnly. Sora blushed slightly and shrugged but before he could say anything Luke closed his eyes and called upon the force again hoping it would grant him a vision that would help Sora on his quest. Sora looked at him confused wondering why Luke had seemed to fall asleep all of a sudden.

"I can see him…he fights countless dark creatures…in a place filled with loneliness and menacing skyscrapers…but that's the past…" he paused searching in the force for something more recent. Luke felt immediately Sora's shift from confusion to eager hopefulness.

"I see him again…you fight side by side all of you…King Mickey is there and Kairi too…" but with a sharp intake of breath he withdrew from that vision. The being they fought was very different from the behemoth. It was dark and evil but somehow hollow seeking to absorb all that is good and turn it in to darkness that would fuel his lust for power. Luke had almost felt himself sucked in by that great void!

"Hey Master Skywalker… are you ok?" Sora asked and the genuine concern the boy felt for him touched Luke deeply and again he felt himself revitalized by Sora's pure heart.

"Be careful Sora…the new enemy you face is evil and twisted but hollow. It wants to devour everything in existence to fuel its evil purpose," Luke cautioned solemnly calling on the force to steady his breathing.

"Organization XIII!" Donald shrieked and Sora explained that this group was comprised of beings with no hearts or souls. They were just a shell but their intent and whereabouts were still clouded in mystery right now.

"They want to consume everything! We have to tell the king!" Donald exclaimed worriedly.

"Right! This means we have to find the next path!" Sora exclaimed eagerly. At that moment Luke realized why he had been meant to find Master Yoda's lightsaber. He reached into his pocket and just as he was about to hand it to Sora the small weapon glowed and the blade activated then floated out of Luke's hand. With the blade pointing straight up into the sky the shape of an old fashioned keyhole glowed all around it casting such an amazing brilliance that it defied even the murkiness of the swamp's ever present fog.

Luke smiled and looked back to Sora the ground around him was glowing in the shape of an old fashioned crown. Then with great flourish Sora brandished his keyblade and pointed at the little lightsaber and the keyhole in the sky. A beam of light shot from the blade and Luke shielded his eyes from the light that shone from the keyhole. A light that conquered all remaining shadows in the swamp around them!

He closed his eyes for a moment basking in the wonder of this joyful light. The light dimmed and the lightsaber slowly floated back down towards Luke's hand. As he caught it the blade switched off and the hilt shrunk. A little chain dangled now from the bottom end of the hilt and Luke knew who the new owner of this lightsaber now was.

"Go now Sora! Find your friend and take this it may help you on your journey," he announced smiling as he handed Sora the lightsaber keychain.

"Thanks a lot Master!" Sora gushed and immediately attached the new chain to his keyblade. The shape of the blade remained the same but the blade now hummed and glowed in the same color Master Yoda's blade had been. The blade then disappeared back into Sora and Luke finally understood that the blade itself was a manifestation of the light in Sora's heart. It went against the laws of physics perhaps but in the force all things were possible.

"Master if you see Riku or the king…" Sora began worriedly once more. Luke cut him off gently putting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I will warn them of the danger and I will tell Riku that his friend Sora is looking for him," he reassured him solemnly. Sora and his friends smiled then and thanked him with much enthusiasm. They turned serious for a moment and standing up straight they saluted him smartly. Luke had forgotten the last time he had felt this at ease with a young student going off on his own mission. But he felt without a shadow of a doubt that Sora would somehow succeed.

"May the force be with you," he concluded smiling proudly at Sora and his friends.

"Thanks Master! May the Force be with you too!" Sora, Donald and Goofy called back to him as they turned and disappeared in shafts of light saying something about getting back to their gummi ship.

"Ah so that's how they did it!" Luke laughed realizing this was how they'd gotten past his force senses undetected. He stood in that spot looking up at the sky for a very long time. The area where Sora had stood to open the path of light was permeated with the good side of the force so much of it in fact that even the gnarled trees of the forest seemed to be pushing away from it to keep from blocking the sun. This place was now the opposite of the cave and Luke knew it would always be that way! This was now the place of the light side…

He sighed content wanting now to get back to his wife and share with her all he had learned today. The other Jedi would have to be warned as well of the threat of the heartless and Organization XIII. He made his way back to his old X-wing smiling as he remembered how much love and devotion his children and grandchildren had poured into its maintenance and the good feelings and happy memories lightened his steps. As he made his way though his feet changed direction and made him walk towards the cave.

"I guess there must be one more task left here," Luke said to himself not questioning the edicts of the force. As he quietly approached the clearing outside the cave he could see a boy sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chin and his back to Luke. He wore a black robe and wept disconsolately. Luke sighed touched by the unreserved sorrow the boy poured out through his tears. Waves of guilt and sadness emanated from him.

'Yes…one more lesson…one more task,' he determined calmly and quietly approached. As he stepped near the boy he finally realized Luke was there and jumped to his feet pointing a menacing looking sword at him. Luke stopped and with a smile he put his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"Away put your weapon…I mean you no harm," he smiled peacefully. The boy just looked at him with suspicion.

"I mean you no harm…Riku," Luke repeated adding the boy's name for this could be no other than the lost friend Sora was searching for. Surprised yet still suspicious the boy put down his sword but did not put it away. Luke simply smiled and stepped closer feeling younger and more refreshed than he'd felt in years…

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Well that is it! My first Star Wars story! For the purpose of this story and any subsequent ones I decided to ignore New Jedi Order. Plus they killed Chewie in it and that is WEAK! Peter Mayhew – who is just the nicest sweetest most amazing person EVER – agreed with me when I talked to him during CV. If the authors wanted to insert "real drama" into SW as was their excuse for killing Chewie they could've instead granted Harrison Ford his wish and killed Han Solo. Then you would've seen some real drama people!

Thank you for reading! And feel free to flame if you wish as long as you don't curse I will appreciate the feedback both dark and light! Otherwise you shall be banished into the Sarlacc Pit! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha…


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